Russian propagandists asserted in March 2022 that the U.S. was funding bioweapons laboratories in Ukraine as a justification for their armed forces’ brutal invasion of that country. “During a special military operation, the facts of the Kiev regime’s emergency cleanup of traces of a military biological program funded by the US Department of Defence implemented in Ukraine were revealed,” asserted a Russian spokesperson on March 6, 2022. A Chinese spokesman joined in, declaring “This Russian military operation has uncovered the secret of the U.S. labs in Ukraine, and this is not something that can be dealt with in a perfunctory manner.” Ironically, this outrageous allegation comes from a regime that refused to allow independent researchers to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 virus in Wuhan, China.
That authoritarian regimes lie is not surprising. However, this Russian propaganda was also parroted by prominent American right-wing figures in the United States, including former Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson and podcaster Steve Bannon.
Former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard quickly joined in, releasing a video on March 13, 2022 in which she stated: “Here are the undeniable facts: There are 25 to 30 U.S.-funded biolabs in Ukraine. According to the U.S. government, these biolabs are conducting research on dangerous pathogens.”
There are 25+ US-funded biolabs in Ukraine which if breached would release & spread deadly pathogens to US/world. We must take action now to prevent disaster. US/Russia/Ukraine/NATO/UN/EU must implement a ceasefire now around these labs until they’re secured & pathogens destroyed pic.twitter.com/dhDTH5smIG
— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) March 13, 2022
Gabbard did not outright claim that the labs were researching bioweapons, although she hinted that they could be conducting “gain-of-function” experiments that could make the pathogens more dangerously infectious. Calling her “our friend,” Russian propagandists widely promoted her remarks as evidence for their claims about secret U.S. bioweapons labs in Ukraine. One Russian commentator even speculated, perhaps jokingly, that she was “some kind of Russian agent.”
In response, Sen. Mitt Romney (R–Utah) on March 13, 2022, tweeted: “Tulsi Gabbard is parroting false Russian propaganda. Her treasonous lies may well cost lives.”
Both American and international organizations thoroughly debunked the Russian disinformation campaign.
Despite her conspiracy theory–adjacent shenanigans, President Donald Trump nominated Gabbard to head the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The ODNI integrates and coordinates the activities of the entire U.S. intelligence community, focusing on counterterrorism, counterintelligence and security, counterproliferation, cyberintegration, and counterinfluence. Gabbard became the director of national intelligence in February 2025.
In May, Gabbard announced that she was resigning as DNI to support her husband as he undergoes treatment for a rare form of bone cancer. Fair enough. On her way out of the door, Gabbard issued a June 12 press release that purportedly “reveals evidence of U.S. taxpayer-funded global lab program.” The release further claimed:
Until now, evidence regarding the full existence and funding of these laboratories had been knowingly withheld from the American people. The information surrounding the existence, history, locations, and funding of these US funded biolabs has been intentionally covered up by powerful people falsely, claiming that they do not exist and accusing anyone who says otherwise to be foreign assets and traitors to America.
Well, no. The Ukrainian biological research labs were not secret nor was information about them “knowingly withheld.” The U.S. Department of Defense issued a fact sheet on March 11, 2022, noting:
The United States, through BTRP [Biological Threat Reduction Program], has invested approximately $200 million in Ukraine since 2005, supporting 46 Ukrainian laboratories, health facilities, and diagnostic sites. BTRP has improved Ukraine’s biological safety, security and surveillance for both human and animal health.
Gabbard’s defensive line about “foreign assets and traitors” suggests Romney’s observation about her biolab innuendos struck a nerve.
So what did Gabbard’s “newly declassified evidence” actually show? The U.S. government has been funding a lot of veterinary research laboratories focused on wild animal and livestock infectious diseases. Below is a list from Gabbard’s new revelations:
Very suspicious, right? Not at all. The allegedly secret table of projects is evidently drawn from this openly published 2019 federal contractor report outlining Ukraine’s country science plan for researching infectious diseases.
So why study the pathogens listed in the above contracts? African swine fever is endemic in eastern Europe’s wild boar population and affects pork production in those countries as well. Fortunately, the last outbreak of classical swine fever in Ukraine was in 2015. The disease was also eliminated from Europe in that year. However, the virus is endemic in Central and South America and many countries in Asia. Avian influenza still afflicts wild birds and poultry in Europe and Ukraine. Additionally, infectious disease researchers are concerned that avian flu could gain a foothold among humans. These are actually reasonable studies by U.S. and Ukrainian researchers aimed at monitoring these and other concerning infectious diseases.
In the face of the Russian bombardment and invasion, the World Health Organization prudently advised in March 2022 that Ukrainian research laboratories destroy pathogens to prevent potential spills that might lead to disease outbreaks.
No evidence of a nefarious bioweapons plot has emerged. The contracted studies cited by Gabbard have not been covered up nor knowingly withheld. Our director of national intelligence is once again peddling Russian propaganda. The question is, why?
